Conte fears Guardiola will dominate England if City sign Van Dijk

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has warned the top six clubs in the Premier League that they need to act before Manchester City acquire Southampton’s Virgil Van Dijk, goal reports.

The Citizens have already been very dominant this season as they are topping the table with an 11-point lead ahead of second Manchester United. Guardiola’s team has only conceded one draw out of 18 games and currently boast the best attacking record with 56 league goals so far.

Despite this, Conte believes City are not yet out of reach but could become a European dominating force if left unopposed in the transfer market.

“Every team, every club, must pay great attention,” Conte said. “Because if a club like Manchester City takes all the best players, it will be very difficult for us to fight. Not only in England but in Europe.

“If they can do this, it is right for them to do this. We must pay great respect.

“When you have this opportunity to go in the market to spend a lot of money, I think it is right to do this. You must obviously be very good to spend your money in this way – sometimes you can spend a lot of money in a bad way.

“You must be clever to understand the positions, the roles you have to improve. In this case you must be very good.”

City are currently in a bit of trouble at the back as they are missing top defenders John Stones and Vincent Kompany with the Belgian being out for a while and Stones set to return later this month according to Guardiola. This has forced the Catalan boss to dive into the market in bid to improve the depth of his back-line with Van Dijk being singled out as the priority target.

Despite being dominant in England this season, the Citizens have yet to prove they can go all the way in Europe. They face Basel in the Round of 16 in February.